An anecdote from which I drew a similar conclusion to yours:
About ten years ago I went with my dad to a music hall where a local marching band was playing. I play a few instruments, have a solid grasp of music theory, etc..., but I’m no professional, while he has ‘average Joe’ music training. I found the concert to be genuinely painful to listen to: entire sections not in tune with each other, very poor dynamics (brass way too loud, woodwinds barely audible), melodies all over the place, sudden tempo changes etc...
After the last piece, the audience asked for the encore. I figured it had to do with social pressure/convention/kindness. Before I could say anything, my dad proceeded to extol the band’s musicianship and high level of the performance, assuming I too had enjoyed the experience.
I once had kind of the opposite experience: I was at a friend’s place, and we watched the recording of a System of a Down concert from a festival that we both had considered attending but didn’t. I thought it was terrific and was quite disappointed not to have attended in person. He however got to the conclusion that the whole thing was so full of flaws that he was glad he hadn’t wasted money on a ticket.
Just like you, I was baffled, and to be honest just kind of assumed he was just trying to signal his high standards or something but surely didn’t actually mean that.
Given that he was quite the musician himself, playing multiple instruments, and I’m quite the opposite, I now for the first time seriously consider whether he really did dislike that concert as much as he said.
An anecdote from which I drew a similar conclusion to yours:
About ten years ago I went with my dad to a music hall where a local marching band was playing. I play a few instruments, have a solid grasp of music theory, etc..., but I’m no professional, while he has ‘average Joe’ music training.
I found the concert to be genuinely painful to listen to: entire sections not in tune with each other, very poor dynamics (brass way too loud, woodwinds barely audible), melodies all over the place, sudden tempo changes etc...
After the last piece, the audience asked for the encore. I figured it had to do with social pressure/convention/kindness. Before I could say anything, my dad proceeded to extol the band’s musicianship and high level of the performance, assuming I too had enjoyed the experience.
I was (and still am) baffled.
I once had kind of the opposite experience: I was at a friend’s place, and we watched the recording of a System of a Down concert from a festival that we both had considered attending but didn’t. I thought it was terrific and was quite disappointed not to have attended in person. He however got to the conclusion that the whole thing was so full of flaws that he was glad he hadn’t wasted money on a ticket.
Just like you, I was baffled, and to be honest just kind of assumed he was just trying to signal his high standards or something but surely didn’t actually mean that.
Given that he was quite the musician himself, playing multiple instruments, and I’m quite the opposite, I now for the first time seriously consider whether he really did dislike that concert as much as he said.